The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Thursday in Enugu declared that Ndigbo will only support a presidential candidate with a clear programme on how to address the plethora of challenges facing the South-east zone.
The organisation's President General, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, who spoke with journalists on his arrival at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, after a trip to the United
States of America, where he went to inaugurate the South Carolina
chapter of Ohanaeze, said Ndigbo were not ready to repeat the mistakes of the past.
He said Ohanaeze was a non-political association,
but it would advise Ndigbo to vote for a candidate of the political
party that has the best programmes for Ndigbo in 2019.
Nwodo also expressed anger at the deplorable state of the Akanu Ibiam
International Airport, Enugu, saying deliberate neglect of the
airport, the only international airport in the zone, tallies with the
obvious marginalization of the people of South East geopolitical zone
in the socio-political and economic development of the country,
particularly after the civil war that ended in 1970.
He said the visit to US provided the opportunity for him to
interact with other Igbo organisations and business men and to
intimate them about the recent South East economic summit and the work
of the Prof. Chuwkuma Soludo’s economic and political committee, which
Ohanaeze inaugurated recently to articulate the road map for the
socio-economic and political development of South East region.
The President General of Ohanaeze said that Nigerians in US were
enthusiastic to partner with South East governors for the development
of the region especially in the area of digital technology,
agriculture and power in order to create employment opportunities for
the young ones and revive the moribund industries in the area.
“Ohanaeze is a non political organization and the membership of
Ohanaeze cuts across political lines. All Igbos are members of
Ohanaeze from their town unions and they all exist in all the
political partiers so I cannot be agent of any political party.
“What is important to Ohanaeze is that before the election, all the
political parties must sell their manifesto to us so that we can
advice Igbos appropriately as to who has protected our interest in
their manifestoes. So the parties have not yet nominated their
candidates; it is premature for me to begin to ask them what they
have.
“When they candidates emerge I will seek audience with them; first of
all I’ll want to know whoever becomes the next president of Nigeria,
will have Nigeria, Igbos especially undertaken if he is not an Igbo
man that he will not stay for more than one tenure and that the next
president of Nigeria will come to Igbo thereafter. That is as the
irreducible minimum for Ndigbo.”
“Today I
lost my temper at the Airport, because our people have an
(international) airport that is not operational. I spoke to the
President (Buhari) in Abakaliki about the state of Enugu Airport; the
runway is in a despicable condition. The Ethiopian Airlines came to my
house and complained to me with pictures. There were cracks n the
runway, the new terminal building is abandoned, the one former
President Jonathan renovated is not like anything anybody did anything
to, part of the annexure close to it was carried away by hurricane,
the one that is there itself is in very, very bad condition.
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